Sony announced the Xperia Z1s at CES earlier this month, and it quickly showed up on T-Mobile's website. So Americans looking to just own the handset have had a week to order one online from the carrier, while those wanting a deeper relationship with the device - to love it for what's on the inside, rather than the outside - have had to wait a little longer. But now their opportunity has come as well. Sony has published the kernel source code for the Xperia Z1s on the same day as the phone's debut in T-Mobile's retail stores.

These files are necessary for developers to create custom ROMs, and Sony has had a good track record of making them available for its devices. Yet while that may be the case, T-Mobile isn't doing its part to help out, as the company has requested that Sony not allow bootloader unlocks on the Xperia Z1s. Nevertheless, anyone who still wants to get their hands on that open source archive can find it at the link below. The complete download is 347MB.

If fallout has taught me anything, it's that you can make some good eatin's on a campfire

KingofPing

Without an unlockable bootloader, how useful are these files?

Is Sony expecting the Dev community to turn around a quick hack/unlock on this?

epsiblivion

so we're gonna be waiting on either tmobile to allow unlocks or a hack/exploit before roms are useful?

BetterWithRoot

"...while those wanting a deeper relationship
with the device - to love it for what's on the inside, rather than the
outside..."

This is an awesome quote.

joseph carmine nero

Well Sony did their part,it's T-mobile that asked for a locked bootloader

Muzafar

Unfortunately, I am returning this phone. Nexus 5 on the way instead.
It's such a great phone, but so sad that it has a locked bootloader. I wish I wasn't so spoiled by being rooted on all my previous devices. lol